Coming up next: Road to Home 2023!

Road to Home, a Long Walk from my birthplace in Leeds, England, to my current home in Italy, is set to continue next week!

Last May/June, I walked from my birthplace in Leeds to the start of the Via Francigena in Canterbury and then on to Dover, following the route of St. Bernard's Way, plotted out by Tony Maskill-Rogan of Abbey Walks in 2014. It took me 30 days to cover a total of 756 kilometres. 

Next, I plan to pick up the Via Francigena in France, starting in Calais. 

Here is an interactive map showing potential stopping places along the route of the Via Francigena, based on the places where the Archbishop of Canterbury Sigeric stopped in 990. You can click on it to view a larger version in Google Maps.

On the third day of Road to Home 2022 in England, I found myself in the village where my grandfather was born, exploring the place where my great-grandfather lived and worked as a coal miner before he was called up to fight in the trenches of the Somme. I found his name on the monument to the fallen outside the village church.

This Spring I will follow in the footsteps of my great-grandfather on his way to the battlefields of the Somme, where he died at the age of 28 on 7 July 1916. Starting on the eleventh day after leaving Calais, I will take a detour from the Via Francigena to walk the 100 km GR® de Pays:Bataille de la Somme, a hiking route among the battlefields and graveyards of the Somme, which will take me to his grave in Thiepval and then back, by a circle route, to the Via Francigena at Peronne.

Stay tuned!

How will all this ever fit into a 38-litre pack??

My packing list for walking in northern France in April is a bit longer than it was last time, for walking in southern Italy!

• 1 spare T-shirt, 3 pairs underwear, 2 pairs socks, leggings, nightgown/dress with nylons & lightweight wool sweater for evening wear, all in a dry sack

• thermal sheet sack, pillowcase, small microfibre travel towel, emergency blanket, in another dry sack

• rainy weather kit: rain jacket, rain hat, waterproof case for phone, plastic rain pants, poncho

• puff jacket

• toiletries bag: travel-sized toothpaste, small toothbrush, small bar of soap in a tin, 10 ml shampoo, medications, band-aids, miniature microfibre travel towel

• shoes for evening wear, in plastic bag

• flip-flops, in plastic bag

• small waterproof bag containing miscellaneous useful items: a small bottle of liquid detergent and a silicone sink plug for washing clothes, camping laundry line, a few small plastic clothespegs, emergency sewing kit, roll of Leukoplast surgical tape for preventing blisters, mosquito and tick repellent, large safety pins for hanging damp laundry on backpack while walking

• Ziploc bag of teabags and instant coffee pouches, instant oatmeal, instant soup mix, single-serving envelopes of olive oil, salt & pepper. Food is not always on hand in France!

• In top & side pockets: sun/rain hat, small sunscreen, waterproof backpack cover, small plastic box for carrying food, fluorescent wristband to wear when walking on roads, water bottle with insulating cover, plastic cup with a container of trail mix inside

• in waist pack: Spork, pocket knife, mini-flashlight, whistle, phone, charger & cable, power bank & cable, guidebooks & information on the trail, pilgrim credential, notebook, wallet, bandana, small water bottle, pandemic supplies: face masks & sanitising gel

• wearing: T-shirt, zip-off pants, hiking boots, scarf, handkerchief, long-sleeved merino wool top

All packed up and ready to go!